Friday, 29 August 2014

Gather round ye misunderstood

So , in this post I'm gonna talk about something extremely close to me- metal and what it means to me. Metal doesn't need an introduction. You know , the angry guy in the black band t-shirt who hates all things happy and could yet be the nicest person you've ever met. Yeah that's the one I'm gonna talk about today.
So , metalheads aren't your typical mainstream bielebers. Metal stands for everything against the mainstrean - a celebration of all those who are misunderstood and all those left out. We all(or I hope all) are thinking human beings . So for those who think, you are bound to be angered by what you see. If not angered atleast concerned. Now some people choose escapism and pretend that these concerns anre not there. Some acknowledge them and voice their concerns. And when voices are drowned, people must growl. And these choices are reflected in musical preferences . The pop guy will listen to songs that make him think of some fairy tale world with imagined dragons or whatever and the metalhead won't be pushed up against the wall( yeah that was testament). So it really is a matter of principle .
Now let's talk demeanor. Metal doesn't believe in dressing up . You look great the way you are . You don't have to try and change anything about it. The metal community accepts people without mascara. Now contrast that against the teenage menstruating girl named Justin who has to hide behind a ton of make-up to perverse every other teenage girls definition of beauty. That's why you see a lot of rockers shirtless. This is who I am in the flesh- like me or hate me- this is my truth and I'm not ashamed enough to hide it behind price tag mascara.
You see metal is about the truth and responses to it - whether you like it or not - without any sugar coating. There is no pretension and all pretenders are despised . If you can't accept the way you are you are not fit to accept anyone else. And yes you can be yourself no matter how messed up you may be in metal. If it's the government screwing with you, or your parents who messed up your childhood , or feelings of suicide and alienation or serial killers , global terrorism - we metalheads are listening - growl on child - we're listening. And aren't these the issues that affect you or is it just the radioactive chick problems as your pop*ahem* artist screech about. The point is metal doesn't set a parameter for its community. It is a negation of accepted belief . Or as St.de La Roach should say' FUCK YOU I WON'T SO WHAT YOU TELL ME - MOTHERFUCKERR- UGGHH!!' Yes metal sees the truth and is not afraid to talk about it no matter how bleak or uncomfortable it is. It is a rebellion it is about sticking up for what you believe in. And like all tellers of the truth, metalheads are misunderstood . But that does not make them any less truthful and the rest any less liars. And I would rather be truthful than understood. Being misunderstood yet truthful is a choice that metalheads make. And no, not everyone is strong enough to make that choice. And it's too sad if you aren't.
Now let's talk musicianship. Your girl named Justin uses the same four chords( invariably Am-C-G-F .... holy shit they know barre chords!). Now have you heard of Mr. Petrucci and his Bb mixolydian sweeps or phyrgian dominant shreds? You don't have to be a genius to say which is superior. Now let's talk beats. Invariably every pop song is a 4/4. Now you pop ass wipes can go dance with your butterflies to a 4/4 and us metalheads are gonna let Mike Portnoy teach us 23.5/8. How 'radiocative' is that? Not that metal is the only technically sound genre there is. Of course the blues, jazz , classical music require an extraordinary level of musicianship. But the being a sucky musician seems to be the criteria in popular music. And you'd know this if you've seen a metal gig. A metalhead derives energy from the crowd. They are sure of their musicianship and skills because they have practiced their craft. And of course our little girl named Justin was bust painting her pony pink so she couldn't find enough time to practice her craft and hence had to lip sync.
Ultimately it all comes down to a choice. You can choose to be truthful and technically sound and intellectually fulfilled by your music or you can choose to pick up chicks with it. And if you choose the latter, Marilyn Manson will haunt your sweet dreams. The point is you can be an artist or you can be a pretender. If you choose the former, you'll be accepted for who you are- no frills no pretensions.And if you think you aren't good enough to be an artist, an artist is not someone who is skilled , he is someone who has a story to tell, and you can always bring both skill and emotion to your expression. But if you still choose the latter.... well what can I say ...' Fuck it , cut the chord'.